Chinese New Year 2026: Trends, spend data, consumer shifts, and how brands can win the moment

Chinese New Year is no longer just a cultural celebration — it has become one of the most commercially significant moments on the global calendar. In 2025, over 2 billion people participated in Chinese New Year celebrations, generating an estimated $1.5 trillion in global consumer spending. China served as the primary engine of this surge, while Southeast Asia emerged as a regional e‑commerce hub during the festive period across multiple sectors. Consumer goods, services, travel and logistics all recorded notable growth during the eight‑day Lunar New Year holiday. (Source: Awisee)

During this period:

• Consumer‑related industries saw a 10.8 percent increase in average daily sales revenue,
• Spending on consumer goods rose 9.9 percent year‑over‑year,
• Spending on services increased 12.3 percent year‑over‑year.

These figures underscore how deeply the Chinese New Year influences commerce, consumer behaviour and advertising strategies across Asia.

2026 Advertising spend outlook: Strategic shifts in global and APAC budgets

As advertising ecosystems evolve, the momentum seen in 2025 is expected to continue through 2026. Global ad spend is projected to surpass US$1 trillion for the first time in 2026, with Asia Pacific playing a pivotal role and anticipated to contribute approximately US$376.4 billion, growing about 5.4 percent year‑over‑year. China remains the dominant market within the region, forecast to expand around 6.1 percent in 2026.  (Source: Marketing Interactive)

This growth trajectory is important for Chinese New Year planning because:

• Holiday activation often drives annual budget allocation decisions,
• Digital and data‑driven channels such as CTV, social, commerce, retail media, and algorithmic buying are key growth drivers, with algorithm‑driven ad spend expected to account for over 71  percent of total spend by 2026.

Consumer behaviour during Chinese New Year: How people shop across online and offline

Chinese New Year is not a single moment of shopping — it unfolds like a journey that begins well before the celebration and continues through both digital and physical experiences. In the lead-up to the festival, many households focus on preparing for reunions, gifts and travel plans. As a result, online behaviour spikes early, driven by research, comparison and early purchasing decisions.Around 55–60 percent of Southeast Asian holiday shoppers reported browsing online before making offline purchases, showing that digital engagement is often the first touchpoint in the holiday shopping journey. (sellercraft.co)

Once the holiday week begins, offline channels come back into sharp focus. Traditional markets, supermarkets and shops selling festival staples such as snacks, fresh food and decorations are packed in the final days before celebrations as families make last-minute purchases and prepare for gatherings. Many consumers combine this offline urgency with prior online research, creating a blended shopping pattern that is distinct to CNY.

Across regions like Southeast Asia, this dynamic plays out similarly: mobility and offline purchase behaviour increase as the festival nears, but digital channels strongly inform early stages of the journey — shaping decisions on what to buy and where — and often play a role in final purchase comparisons or price checks even at physical stores.

This evolution reflects a broader truth: Chinese New Year shoppers do not operate in silos. They move fluidly between channels, starting with online discovery and often completing purchases offline, especially for experiential or urgent needs — a pattern that demands integrated media strategies that meet consumers at every step of the journey.

Behavioural shifts: What marketers must know

Across Asia Pacific, and particularly in China and Southeast Asia, consumer expectations and behaviours during Chinese New Year are shifting in the following ways:

1. Preparation starts earlier
Search interest and purchase consideration often begin 3–10 weeks before the actual holiday, requiring brands to plan and activate campaigns well in advance rather than in the weeks immediately preceding the festival.

2. Fluid channel journeys matter
Consumers increasingly alternate between screens — from CTV for inspiration, social platforms for discovery, and mobile or in‑store to make purchases, highlighting the need for a seamless omnichannel experience.

3. Experience and emotion drive decisions
As consumers seek connection and meaningful experiences during festival periods, practical considerations like convenience, emotional resonance and cultural relevance influence both online and in‑person engagement.

4. Personalisation and AI influence conversion
AI‑enhanced discovery and personalized recommendations are key levers in festive shopping, with algorithmic spend expected to dominate advertising investment by 2026.

​How mediasmart enables high‑impact festival campaigns

Chinese New Year demands more than broad reach — it calls for precision media, high engagement formats, and coordinated cross‑screen journeys. mediasmart’s solutions help brands solve the most persistent challenges of holiday campaigns.

Transforming TV from awareness to action

Connected TV (CTV) is no longer just a reach play. During festive periods, big screens become gathering points where households engage with content together, a critical moment for brand storytelling. mediasmart enables brands to:

• Activate data‑informed CTV campaigns with layered audience signals, ensuring festive creative appears where target consumers are most attentive.
• Deliver flexible optimisation mid‑campaign, so ads adjust to real‑time demand signals such as search trends and social engagement spikes.

Measure incremental uplift, capturing impact beyond impressions — critical during short, high‑impact windows like Chinese New Year.
By focusing on engagement and contextually relevant messaging, mediasmart turns CTV from a branding channel into a tool for measurable influence.

Interactive and High‑Participation CTV Creative Formats

Static ads struggle to hold consumers’ attention during high‑stimulus periods. mediasmart empowers brands to deploy:

• Gamified ad experiences that reward interaction and deepen engagement.
• Shoppable media and interactive overlays that shorten the post‑awareness path to purchase.
• Context‑aware creative variations tailored to cultural cues and holiday moods.

Cross‑Screen Orchestration: Sync That Moves Consumers

• CTV Household Sync: Proprietary Household Sync technology maximises CTV engagement by delivering synced re‑engagement ads across mobile devices within the same household
• CTV to Social Sync: Ensures brand narratives initiated on connected TV follow audiences into mobile social environments with consistent creative and messaging reinforcement.